Welcome. This Returnal™ – Environment Surveys and End Game Guide was written to be helpful to you, and we genuinely hope you do.

There are a total of 38 achievements in the game, including 7 new ones introduced for the Ascension DLC. In light of the previous, I present an accomplishment guide because, as far as I’m aware, no one else has published one on Steam in English. The majority of this guide is built on PlayStation trophy data.

Environment Surveys and End Game

You’ve probably completed all 6 biomes and maybe even the entire game. Pat yourself on your back and perhaps treat yourself. Environment surveys are the only remaining thing if you haven’t done so. Each environment survey for each of the six biomes has five primary components.

• Scanning all Xenoglyph Cyphers: Glowing Red Runes that can only be found in rooms within a biome. The minimap usually marks these areas with a green upside down triangle marker. For more information, refer to Cryptic Messages or Cryptic Translations.
• Retrieve all Scout Logs: Scout logs are usually marked with a suit signal icon on a minimap and in white worldwide. For more information, refer to Alternate Fates
• Scanning all Xeno-archives: Often found in side rooms marked by triangular doorways. You may need a permanent traversal artifact, which can be obtained later in this game. For more information, see Visions of the Past.
• Clearing Containment Area: The area is marked with a yellow rectangular entrance with a star above. It is a marathon challenge that requires you to clear three successive waves of enemies, each increasing in difficulty. The room will be reset on subsequent runs, but the room must be removed once per survey.
• Locating a Secret Area: You’ll find glowing yellow objects in rooms that aren’t marked on your minimap. These can lead you to secret rooms containing anything, including Obolites, containers or even an adamant enemy.

Below is a table listing the Xenoglyph Ciphers and Scout Logs amounts in each biome. You may not find all collectibles in one run. This is especially true for the Scout Logs or Xenoglyph Ciphers. Keep going and you’ll eventually find them all.

Biome	Xenoglyph Ciphers	Scout Logs	Xeno-Archives
1. Overgrown Ruins	10	18	4
2. Crimson Wastes	20	9	5
3. Derelict Citadel	15	10	5
4. Echoing Ruins	15	11	5
5. Fractured wastes	10	10	4
6. Abyssal Scar	20	9	5

After completing an environment survey of a biome, your achievement will be conferred.

Past the Ruins

“Finish Overgrown Ruins Survey.”

Ascending the Mountain

HIDDEN ACHIEVEMENT –

“Finish Crimson Wastes Survey”

Through the Forgotten City

HIDDEN ACHIEVEMENT –

“Finish Derelict Citadel Survey”

Echoes from the Past

HIDDEN ACHIEVEMENT –

“Finish Echoing Ruins Survey.”

Frozen in Time

HIDDEN ACHIEVEMENT –

“Finish Fractured Wastes Survey

Submerged in Memories

HIDDEN ACHIEVEMENT –

“Finish Abyssal Scar Survey

Returnal™ – Environment Surveys and End Game is described in this guide. If you notice anything that needs to be fixed or updated, please let us know in the comments, and we’ll get to it as quickly as possible. May this be a good day for you. 3kole5, the author and originator of this post, is to thank for the inspiration. If you liked this post, be sure to bookmark us so you can easily find more of our great material in the future.